grieved at the answer which Abbâ Sisoes had spoken unto them. Now because he did not wish to send them away sorrowful, he brought them back, and said unto them, “Blessed are ye, O my brethren, for I have been jealous of you”; and they said unto him, “In what matter hast thou been jealous of us?” And he said, “The first one of you spake about a river of fire; and the second spake about the gnashing of teeth and the worm which dieth not; and the third spake about the outer darkness; if remembrances of this kind have dominion over your minds it is impossible for you to commit sin. What can I do who am stubborn of heart? For hardness of heart will not allow me to perceive even that there a punishment for men existeth, and because of this I sin every hour.” And when the old men had heard these words, they made excuses to him, and said, “In very truth according to what we have heard, even so have we seen.”
139. A certain father said that on one occasion when the brethren were eating the food of grace, one of them laughed at table; and Abbâ Sînû saw him, and burst into tears, and said, “What can there be in the heart of this brother who hath laughed? It is meet that he should weep because he is eating the food of grace.”
140. They say that when Abbâ Sisoes was sick the old men who were sitting with him saw that he was talking [to some one], and they said unto him, “What seest thou, O father?” And he said unto them, “Some people came to take me away, and I entreated them to leave me [here] a little longer that I might repent.” Then one of the old men said unto him, “What power hast thou in thee now for repentance?” Abbâ Sisoes said unto them, “If I can do nothing else I can sigh and lament a little over my soul, and this will be sufficient for me.”
141. Certain brethren went to an old man and, making apologies to him, they said, “Father, what shall we do, for Satan is hunting after us?” And he said unto them, “It is right for you to be watchful and to weep continually. My own thoughts are always fixed upon the place where our Lord was crucified, and I sigh and lament and weep about it always;” and thus having received a good example of repentance the brethren departed and became chosen vessels.
142. A brother asked Abbâ Muthues, saying, “Speak a word to me”; and the old man replied, “Cut off from thee contention concerning every matter whatsoever, and weep, and mourn, for the time hath come.”
143. Abbâ Ammon said that he saw a young man who laughed, and he said unto him, “Laugh not, O brother, for if
